Transit highlights from my Toronto trip

While I was in Toronto these past few days, I got a chance to see two of Toronto Transit Commission’s (TTC) newest transit vehicles. For those unfamiliar with public transportation in the Greater Toronto Area, a number of transit authorities provide local transit service within different regions in the GTA.  The TTC provides transportation services within the Toronto proper, including the subways, streetcars and bus service.  I suppose a more detailed introduction to the different public transportation services would be ideal in a separate post. The articulated buses The first were the Nova Bus LFS articulated buses. These buses, introduced Continue Reading

New Xcelsior buses hit Vancouver streets

It has been quite a while since we’ve received new buses, especially a new model, here in Metro Vancouver.  This past Monday, the newest buses of the fleet, New Flyer Xcelsior XDE60s, commenced revenue service on the #49. West Vancouver also has some Xcelsiors, but they are the 40 foot diesel versions as shown on the right.  They have been in service since January. According to New Flyer, Xcelsiors boast several advantages such as better fuel economy, streamlined design, and a better experience for both the driver and passengers. These new buses look a lot sleeker than their predecessors, however Continue Reading

Reindeer Sightings

We have two reindeer buses roaming the streets of Metro Vancouver, one conventional based in Vancouver and a shuttle based in Port Coquitlam. Rudolph Rudolph is a little shy and only comes out occasionally for short trips in the Vancouver area, however, there have been sightings of him in other municipalities in the region. This year, Rudolph was decorated with additional external lighting. Where is Rudolph? Rudolph Shuttle The Rudolph shuttle, on the other hand, isn’t shy at all, and is usually out and about on many shuttle routes in the Coquitlam area. Where is Rudolph Shuttle? Other Reindeer Buses

Finally fully working camera again, and some buses in the snow

In August of this year, some pressure from an unknown source cracked my LCD screen, and since then I have been using it without an LCD screen (quite difficult, but still usable).  A week ago, I ordered a replacement LCD from Foto Geeks and I received it today (coincidentally the day I was home).  Following Andy’s LCD replacement tutorial I successfully replaced the cracked LCD screen I have had almost for half a year.  Wondering what the cracked LCD looks like? The replacement was without problem except I made two scratches on the backlight, and nearly damaged the backlight ribbon Continue Reading

The wheels on the bus go round and round…

On September 2, 2006, a crowd of people watched as the buses whose home had been the Oakridge Transit Centre for the past years made their way to the new multi-million-dollar state-of-the-art garage called Vancouver Transit Centre. Many of the buses leading the parade were retired buses restored by The Transit Museum Society (TRAMS). I also took 3 video clips: 2102 pulling out of Oakridge V1109 The bus parade going down Oak Street